City Lights
by heyxbaby
Summary: Crellie. CraigxEllie. Other Possible pairings. In a world full of parties, sex, drugs, and alcohol, two people find love where they least expected it or wanted. Takes place in downtown toronto's party scene. Has potential, I promise!
1. Prologue

Discalimer: I DO NOT own Degrassi or any song lyrics I use in this story. Everything belongs to its respectful owners. This is purely for fun :)

**Prologue:**

_Cause I swear i'd burn this city down to show you the lights...._

Downtown Toronto. The party scene, filled with drugs, alcohol, parties, sex, lost hope, ruined, dreams, and broken hearts. Every night there was a party. In this city, there was the party scene of ALL party scenes. Forget places like LA, New York, and Las Vegas. Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada was it.

Like any scene there was most popular places, the hot spots, the old hot spots, the come down diners, and the feeling of lust and alcohol floating in the air. Lets not forget the crowds of people. There were the druggies, the alcoholics, the vintage partiers, the coutoure-heads, the coke-whores, the drama starters, the plastics, the rockys. And last but not least, the reason for our story, the debbies.

The debbies were THE group. They ran the scene. They were the hottest and most popular of the scene. The group was at every hot party and they were the reason the party lasted. It wasn't a great party until the debbies were there. The group consisted of 4 people. There was Alexa Roberts, a lean brunette with light honey eyes and long flowing hair. She was like the brunette version of Ke$ha when it came to partying. Then there was Paige Michelchuck. She was the bitch of the group. She has golden blonde hair and hazel eyes. There was Marco Del Rossi, the gay guy of the group. He wasn't too tall and has stylish short brown hair. Everyone loved him and he knew how to dress and party. Then there was their leader and queen of the scene, Ellie Nash. She was a gorgeous red head with emerald green eyes. She knew how to party and she was known for not falling in love or getting into a relationship. Together these four made the debbies. And everyone knew that.

In the city, everyone went to the same parties, so everyone knew who eachother was. But the parties never got any less interesting. It was a way of life for these people, and they loved it. They each had their identity during the day at the their respectable jobs. But when the night hit, their true selves came out. Everyone was connected by this scene.

Our story is about what happens in this scene. It's about two people in this scene. They both prided themselves on not falling in love, but soon they found themselves in love in a scene where lust and broken hearts are the must have accessory.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**  
_Are we growing up or just going down?_

"Trust me, Craig, you won't be disappointed. These are the parties you want to be at. And if you make an impression of the guys, you could become a rocky." Nathan slapped a hand on Craig's shoulder as the walked inside. The party was already in full swing. They were at the Lux hotel in downtown Toronto. The smell of alcohol, drugs, and lust was thick in the air. Craig Manning was with his friend Nathan Stewart. Nathan was a big partier and had always invited Craig along for his nightly adventures. After much persuading, Craig finally agreed on this night.

Craig found himself a beer and followed Nathan to a group of 3 guys standing off to the side. Nathan introduced Craig to each guy. The first was a guy with dirty blonde hair and piercings named Spinner. The next was a tall, tan guy named Jimmy. And the last guy was scruffy with dark brown hair named Patrick. These were the Rockys, and if things went well, he would be one of them.

The guys stood around joking and laughing. Craig was fitting in just right with them. Spinner then tapped Patrick and nodded his head towards the balcony. Patrick nodded his head and asked Craig if he wanted to join them. Craig shrugged as they went outside. Spinner sat down and pulled out a pipe and a bag of pot. He quickly loaded the bowl and pulled out his lighter. He took a hit and passed it to Patrick. Patrick did the same, and looked over at Craig. "You ever smoked weed before Craig?" Craig grabbed the pipe and took a hit. After a few seconds, he blew a big cloud of smoke out. "I'm familiar with it." The three laughed as they continued to smoke up.

After his fourth beer, Craig was feeling great. He was high, and very buzzed. As he walked into the next room, he stopped in his tracks when he saw her. She stood out over every girl in the party. She wore a ripped Aerosmith tank top, ripped shorts, tights, and Doc Martins. The thick bangles on her wrist fell up and down her arm and she moved around. Her smile was flawless, and so was her body. Her red hair was wavy and shiny. And to top it all off, she had the most vibrant shade of emerald eyes he'd ever seen.

As Craig stood there, she slowly turned and looked at him. She stopped and continued to look at him. They both stood, staring at each other. Then a brunette walked up to her, a drink in her hand. She looked to see where Ellie was staring. She smiled and whispered something in her ear. She looked over at her, then back at Craig. She smiled, looked down, and skipped away with her friend. Craig felt himself let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Just then Jimmy walked up to him.

"Jim...who is that girl?" Craig breathlessly asked. Jimmy looked to where he was staring, to see the red head girl, laughing, and smoking a cigarette with the brunette. Soon a golden haired girl and a guy joined them. Jimmy smiled at Craig. "That, my friend, is Ellie Nash. She is the hottest girl man. But don't try anything. She doesn't do relationships." Craig looked over at him. "She doesn't do relationships?" Jimmy nodded. "I don't know why. She doesn't really hook up. She has a few times, but other than those times, she stays away from relationships." Craig followed her as she went to the make shift dance floor with her 3 other friends. "And the brunette, that's Alexa. Right there is Paige. And the guy is Marco. They are the Debbies. They run this party scene. They're like the royalty of the scene." Craig nodded, watching the girl smile and dance.

The next night, Craig went to another party an the Lux. He had a joint rolled up in his pocket. He grabbed his third beer and headed out to the balcony. Craig leaned forward, looking out at the skyline of Downtown. He pulled the joint out of his pocket and sparked it. As he took a deep breath in, he saw someone come stand next to him. He turned to see the gorgeous red head from the night before, leaning on the rail with him. She smiled at him, and his heart skipped. "Mind if I hit that?" she asked coolly. Craig shrugged his shoulder and passed her the joint. She smile, throwing out a thanks. She took a drag of the joint, holding it for a few seconds, and letting it out. She passed the joint back to him. "Ellie." She held out her hand. Craig took another hit and grabbed her hand with his own. "Craig." They smiled at each other. Suddenly they found themselves in another stare down.

Just then, Nathan came stumbling out onto the balcony, breaking their stare, as they both looked at him. Nathan smiled at Ellie as he walked up to them. "Ah. Ellie. I see you've met my friend." Nathan put a hand on his shoulder. She smirked at Craig. "Yeah. You're friend Craig and I were just sharing a joint." Craig smirked at her as he passed the joint back to her. Nathan smiled. "Yeah. Craig here is the newest member of the Rockys." Craig looked at Nathan, who nodded at him. Craig smiled and looked back at Ellie. She blew out her hit and handed it back to Craig. She smiled, high, eyes half lidded. She grabbed her drink and looked at Craig. "A rocky, eh? I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other... Craig." She looked down and smiled, before she waved her fingers and went back inside.

Craig didn't know if it was the alcohol or the weed, but he could not stop smiling for the rest of the night.

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**R&R**! Thanks.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**  
_Take our tears, put them on ice..._

It was New Years. The Rockies and Debbies were throwing the ultimate party at the Roxy, the hottest hotel in Downtown. Alcohol was endless. Drugs of many varieties were scattered all around the suite. Smoke from the cigarettes and weed floated in the air, along with a whole lot of lust. Alexa stumbled over to Paige, drink never spilling. She smiled at her friend.

"Is this party kick ass or what?" she giggled. Paige rolled her eyes and smirked. "Of coarse this party is kick ass. We're throwing it!" Just then Spinner put his arm around Paige's shoulders. "Don't forget us too." The rest of the Rockies showed up, along with the rest of the Debbies. Ellie motioned for all of them to lean in closer to her. They did just that. "Guess what I just scored with my amazing charm!" She pulled a small baggie out of her bra to reveal 9 white pills. Smiled at them. "Who's down?" She looked at them. They all looked at each other and nodded their heads. Each grabbed a pill and popped it in their mouth, washing it down with their drink of choice.

The 8 walked into a room and closed the door. They had bottles of alcohol hidden for themselves in their room. Nathan walked over and locked the door, as Marco began to pull out the shot glasses. There was a raging party in the biggest suite in Canada, and they were having a private party in their room. As soon as the ecstasy kicked in, things were going to get a whole lot more interesting.

Craig was watching Ellie. She was dancing around with Paige, shot glass in hand. She then took the shot, throwing her head back, while she continued to dance. He smiled seeing her smile. His stomach felt a weird tingle. Soon the tingles continued, moving throughout his whole body. His breaths soon turned heavy and short. Craig started rubbing his chest as a positively overwhelming happy sensation took over his body. Ellie then bounced over to Craig and sat down next to him on the bed.

"You feeling it yet?" Craig then looked over at her. He nodded his head and she smiled at him. She then reached out and began rubbing her hand on his arm. The small gesture was absolutely euphoric. Nothing had ever felt better. Craig had never done ecstasy, but he was finding that he was enjoying it very much. Soon the whole group was at their peak, dancing around, jumping on beds, and taking more shots. Craig and Ellie were chasing each other, when Ellie ran in the bathroom. Craig ran behind her happily. She was trapped next to the bath tub. Craig started toward her, when he slipped on the floor mat. He fell into the bath tub, taking Ellie with him.

The two were laughing hysterically. Slowly their laughter died, and they were left just staring at each other. Amber and emerald. Their stares became more intense, when Ellie blinked and looked down. She looked back at Craig and smiled at him. She then moved to the opposite end of the bath tub.

About an hour later, they were still feeling the ecstasy, but not as hard. They were still in the bathroom, no lights on, just talking. They hadn't stopped talking since they first entered the tub. Both Ellie and Craig felt so comfortable and at ease with the other. Not to mention they both were excellent at cuddling. Ellie didn't know she had so much in common with Craig. He'd had his share of pain just like she had. Craig thought he was floating on a cloud. Ellie was on the same level he was. He had never met anyone, especially a girl, that much like him. But she was also different from him as well.

As they lay in the bath tub, the rest of the group was in the other room, having a serious and deep talk about life. Everyone was emotional and feeling empathetic. And they were all happy and feeling alive. It wasn't called the love drug for nothing.

Ellie put her hand on Craig's chest and started traced shapes on his plain black shirt. Her dark olive flowing tube top bunched up around her waist, showing off some skin Craig just had to touch. His finger lightly grazed her skin. Goosebumps appeared as she shivered quietly. She sighed. "Craig... what's your biggest fear?" Craig looked down at her and thought about it for a minute. He then rested his head on top of her head. "I think my biggest fear is not being able to go after my dreams. Not being able to succeed. Failing." He felt Ellie nodding her head on his chest. He then looked at her. "What about you?" She sighed. She was quiet for a minute before answering. "I'm scared that.. that i'm not enough. Not pretty enough. Not smart enough. Not good enough for anything or anyone. And i'm scared of being hurt anymore. I'm tired of being hurt." Ellie sighed again. She had never told anyone that before. "Hey." Craig lifted her chin. She stared into his eyes as he stared into hers.

"You ARE good enough Ellie. And no one wants to be hurt, but sometimes you need to be hurt to find the right things... or person." They stared at each other some more, before Craig started to lean in. Ellie did the same. And their lips met. And it was like they took thousands of pills. The energy and emotion filled in that kiss was something neither of them had experienced, sober or under the influence. And they continued to kiss until their lungs could no longer take it, and they had to stop for air before continuing some more. It wasn't rushed or filled with lust. It was raw passion, and neither wanted to admit is was more than the drugs that were making them feel this way.

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**R&R**. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:  
**_Cause I'll keep singing this lie if you'll keep believing it_

The cars passed by quickly down the street. It was the lunchtime rush downtown and people were starting to get back into the swing of things now that New Years break was over. The Debbies were at Express, a cafe that Alexa was a barista at. It was slow at the moment, so the Debbies were chatting away. All except a red head, who was unusually quiet. Paige looked over at Ellie, who was staring out into traffic.

"Hell-o! Ellie!" Paige waved her hand in front of Ellie. She just blinked and looked at Paige.

"Hun, you've barely said 5 words since we've been here." Paige gave her a look.

"It's nothing. There's nothing. I'm fine." Ellie fidgeted with her ring. Marco smirked at her.

"Okay spill. You only play with your ring when you're nervous." Ellie immediately stopped. Marco laughed. She rolled her eyes and flipped open her cell phone. Marco saw a picture of Ellie and Craig in a bath tub. Marco smirked at her again.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with you and Craig at our party, would it?" Marco asked. Ellie almost dropped her phone, but fumbled and caught it at the last second. Paige gave her a shocked smile, and Alexa plopped down into a seat.

"No way. You and Craig hooked up?" Alexa chirped surprised. All eyes were on Ellie. She rolled her eyes and put her phone down on the table. She looked down, then back up at their curious eyes.

"We hooked up. So what? We were rolling. We were all high on ecstasy. You know how that goes." Ellie looked back over at the traffic. Paige kept her eyes on Ellie. So did Marco. Alexa smiled at her and stood back up. "Nice one El. He's hot. And a Rockie. Well i've got to get to customers. I'll see you guys tonight." And with that Alexa walked away. Paige stood up, still studying Ellie.

"I've got to run too. My lunch break will be over soon. Later." Paige hugged the two and walked away. Marco and Ellie decided to go back to work themselves. They worked at a thrift store close by. Ellie pulled out her pack of cigarettes and lit one. She took a long drag as she offered Marco a cigarette. He took one himself, and they stood outside the store. Marco blew out some smoke before looking over at Ellie, who watched people walk by.

"So what are you not telling us, mainly me?" He asked, getting straight to the point. Ellie blew out her drag of smoke and looked at him. "Nothing! I told you. We were high, we hooked up, it was over. End of story." Ellie flicked her ashes, watching them fall to the street. Two customers walked up to the door, and Marco and Ellie smiled politely at them. When the door closed, Marco flicked his ashes as well.

"If it was nothing, why are you being so weird about it?" Marco stated. Ellie looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. Marco gave her a look.

"You've hooked up with guys before El. But you never acted like this after wards. You would be over it as fast as it happened, which I never liked by the way." He stated. "You're really... thoughtful about this. And you kept of you and him on your cell!" Ellie took her last drag and threw her cigarette bud to the ground. She blew out the smoke and looked at Marco. Then she sighed.

"It's just... I told him things Marco. And we connected, not just on a physical level. It was... different from the other guys i've hooked up. I don't know why or what it was." She sighed again and crossed her arms, leaning against the wall. Marco threw his cigarette down as well and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

"So why is this guy taking up your thoughts, when the others don't?" Marco questioned. Ellie made a face and shrugged her shoulders.

"Because i'm not used to feeling... anything for a guy. And with Craig, whatever it is, I actually feel something." She said quietly. Marco gave her a sympathetic look. Ellie shook her head and pushed herself up off the wall with her leg. "You know what? It was probably just the drugs. Yeah. That's it." She then gave Marco a smile and walked into the store. Marco was behind her, not convinced with her answer.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Ellie leaned against the wall, beer in one hand, cell phone in other. She was looking at the picture again, when she saw Paige walking up to her. She put her cellphone in her pocket and smiled at Paige, taking a swig of beer. She could feel the bass pumping from the music in her chest and on the wall. Paige stood next to her, mixed drink in her hand.

"So I don't know what you're thinking with this whole Craig situation." Paige casually stated. Ellie rolled her eyes and chugged her beer, throwing it in the trash can.

"It was the ecstasy Paige. Nothing more." Ellie commented. Paige rolled her eyes and took a chug of her drink. She then looked at Ellie.

"If it was nothing, you'd be out on that dance floor, not staring at your phone. But what do I know?" Paige then walked away. Ellie sighed and walked outside. She saw Craig sitting on the floor against the wall, about to light a joint. Ellie sat down next to him. Their bodies were close, and Ellie was all too aware of it. Craig looked over and smiled at her. She immediately smiled back.

"Mind if I join you?" Ellie asked. He shook his head and lit the joint. After his hit, he passed it to Ellie, who gladly accepted it. They stared out at the skyline, not saying anything. Craig looked down at Ellie, who had a small smile on her face.

"What're you thinking?" Craig calmly asked. Ellie looked up at him, then back out at the skyline of downtown. "I don't know. Just how nice this is." she said. Neither commented or asked what exactly 'this' meant. Ellie wrapped her arm around his and moved closer to Craig. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he laid his head on her head.

"What're you thinking?" Ellie asked just as clam. He didn't look at her when he answered. "Just how nice this is." Ellie couldn't help but smile as they sat there talking some more.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

_We're the chemists who've found the formula__  
__To make your heart swell and burst_

Music could be softly heard over the store. It was late afternoon downtown. The sun was starting it's descent down. Ellie was at Sonic Records, her favorite record store in the city. All of her music came from this place, ever since she was a child. She was a regular and everyone knew her.

As Ellie browsed through the records, she heard the jingle of the bell that hung above the door. She payed no interest to the person. "Welcome to Sonic Records!" one of the employees chirped out. Ellie came across Aerosmith's _Nine Lives_ album, someone yanked it out of her hands. She glared and turned to the person she was about to tell off, when her gaze softened. There was Craig, smirking at her playfully.

"Nifty running into you here." He smirked some more. Ellie rolled her eyes and gave him a look.

"Nifty? I should report you for using such out-dated slang." She pouted and poked Craig in the side. He rolled his eyes back and handed Ellie the album. He then moved next to Ellie and started to browse with her.

"How long have you been coming here?" Ellie asked, picking up a Beatles record and inspecting it. Craig smiled.

"I came here everyday when I was on this week long vacation when I was 17. This is the first time i've come here since I moved here." Ellie looked over at him. He had this comfortable smile on his face and Ellie's heart started to race. She looked down and shook her head. She could feel the blush heating up her cheeks.

"That's awesome. I've been coming here since I was a child. This place is like a second home." Ellie smiled, looking around the place. She looked over and caught Craig's eye. He smiled at her. Ellie's heartbeat shot up.

"Just another awesome point for you." Craig commented. Ellie looked down and slightly laughed. She could feel her cheeks on fire and it was pissing her off. She quickly changed the subject. She cleared her throat.

"So what kind of music are you into exactly?" Ellie already had 2 records pulled out and wanted to find one more. Craig smiled at her as he pulled out two Black Keys records. Ellie looked over at the records and nodded her approval to him.

"I listen to anything that sounds good to me. Although, I can't say I'm a fan of country music though." He laughed to himself. He pulled out a Britney Spars record and handed it to Ellie. She rolled her eyes and mocked excitement as she clung the record close to her chest. Craig laughed at her face.

"Oh my gosh Craig. How did you know?! I've been dying to have this record for _years_." She then dropped the excited face and looked at him blandly. Craig laughed again and put the record back. The two continued like this for awhile, pulling out different artists an either arguing or agreeing on them and their music. Soon an hour flew by and they were both ready to leave. They walked up to the front counter to check out.

"Hey El. Who's this?" A young woman with blue and pink highlights asked as she rung up the records. Ellie smiled at her and pointed back at Craig. Craig smiled and slightly waved at her.

"Tracy, this is Craig. Craig, the blonde with the crazy hair right here is Tracy." Ellie smiled at her. Tracy smiled at Craig as he returned the favor. She took his card and swiped it, waiting for him to put in his pin. Unknown to Craig, the girls had a silent conversation with their eyes. Craig looked up at the girls, who quickly smiled as if nothing happened.

"Are you going to the party tonight?" Craig asked as he grabbed his bag and receipt. Ellie looked over at him and nodded. He smiled and pulled out his cell phone as he turned to leave.

"See you later then." He smiled at her one last time as he walked out the door. Ellie continued to lok at the door he just walked out of as Tracy sighed and nudged Ellie playfully. Ellie looked over at her questioningly.

"He's cute El." Tracy nodded her head in approval. She then continued to wiggle her eyebrows at her. Ellie laughed and smacked her in the arm, rolling her eyes and throwing out a _whatever_ as she left the store as well.

X-x-x-x-x-x

The party was already in full swing as Ellie and the Debbies arrived. People were dancing, smoking, and drinking to their hearts content. Ellie looked around, not quite sure what she was looking for. She could feel the bass in her chest and the music bumped through the speakers. The Debbies made their way over to the drinks before settling at a small couch and table.

"So El. What's the deal?" Alex asked as she took a shot. Ellie turned and looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" Ellie asked. Alexa sat up straighter and gave her a look. "Come on Ellie. You haven't hooked up with a guy in ages. What's the deal?" She then sipped her drink. Marco and Paige looked at Ellie, then each other. They both were about to speak, when Ellie cut them off.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know I was required to do so every party we go to." Ellie snapped. Marco put a hand on her shoulder and she gave him a look. Paige shook her head and took a sip of her drink. Alexa rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying. You seem to be close with Craig. If you have feel-" Ellie stood up, interrupting Alexa. "Me and Craig are just friends. That's it. And if you want me to hook up with somebody so bad, then watch this." Ellie grabbed her drink and stormed away, looking for a decent looking guy in the crowd. On the other side of the party, the Rockies were giving Craig the same interrogation.

"So Craig. See any ladies you want tonight?" Spinner asked and he popped open his third beer. Craig shook his head and took a swig of his drink. Jimmy sparked a blunt and passed it to Craig after hitting it twice. "Dude. There's so many hot chicks in here. You must want to hook up with someone." Spinner questioned. Craig passed the blunt and looked around the party. He saw Ellie talking and laughing with some guy. A strange feeling overcame the pit of his stomach. Craig looked back at Spinner who was waiting for an answer. "Yeah there is actually." Then Craig took off to find said girl her apparently wanted to hook up with.

Craig looked around and found a small, brunette girl with dimples and a brilliant smile. He walked over to her as she turned and made eye contact with him. She smiled at him and he returned the favor. "Hi. I'm Craig." She stuck her small hand out and Craig took it, giving it a light shake. "Manny." She replied. On the other side of the room, Ellie was bored and ready to just ditch the guy. As Frank told her some story, she looked around the party. Her eyes landed on Craig and... Manny. The girl she couldn't stand. The girl who ruined everything. A weird, bad feeling came over her.

"Wanna go somewhere a little more private?" Frank asked smoothly. Ellie saw Manny laugh and put her hand on Craig's arm. That feeling shot up in her again. She shook her head and took Franks hand. "S-sure." As Frank started to lead her away, Ellie turned and looked at Craig. Craig had turned and looked at Ellie at the same time. Both felt strange and uneasy as the other was pulled away by someone else.


End file.
